Override question going on April ballot

Monday

Feb 3, 2014 at 12:26 PMFeb 19, 2014 at 3:02 PM

By JASON PROTAMISpecial Writer

WESTPORT — With the final dollar amounts left to be decided, Selectmen agree to put two override questions on the ballot for the annual town election in April.Town administrators said selectmen should seek overrides for both the operational and capital budget needs budgets in Fiscal Year 2015 on the April 8 ballot. That’s not enough time to run a successful override campaign, Selectmen Craig Dutra told immediately told his colleges at the Jan. 27 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. “I’ve always supported an override,” he said, “but make no mistake — running an override campaign is running a campaign.”“You have to give voters a reason to vote for an override,” and that takes time and effort, he suggested.Mr. Dutra reminded fellow members that the last time they asked for an override, it failed to meet the approval of town voters. Another failed attempt this year would be another setback, he felt, saying, “if we want to do it, we should do it right.”Doing it right would include getting the backing of town department heads and town employees, as well as elected officials, Mr. Dutra said. Last time, he noted, “elected officials and all the department heads, except for two... and the town’s union employees, except for the teacher’s union... were missing in action.”Countering Mr. Dutra’s hints at a possible delay in the override request, Chairman of Selectmen Antone Vieira Jr. said, “we have a responsibility to put the question before town voters.”Board of Assessors member Robert Grillo was at the meeting, and offered some support, saying, “we as department heads urge the selectmen to put the questions on the upcoming ballot.”He added, “the consensus is we need an override to avoid cuts. The community has to decide what Westport needs to look like; if they want lower taxes and no services, then so be it,” he told selectmen. On split votes, with Selectman Steven Ouellette and Mr. Dutra dissenting, it was also voted to put two non-binding questions on the spring election ballot. The first would ask voters to cut the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge on property tax bills from two percent to one percentThe reduction might make a town-wide override request easier for residents to swallow, Mr. Vieira reasoned.Mr. Dutra again spoke for the minority position, noting that not only would the town lose matching state funds, but this question also has been put before voters, and failed, in the recent past.It was noted that the state has matched town’s CPA funds for an average of 26 percent in the last couple of years; this year, the state match was closer to 50 percent. The match was 100 percent when the Community Preservation Act was first signed into law in 2000.Additionally, Mr. Dutra noted any reduction in the CPA assessment taxpayers voted for would have no effect on this year’s budget. Even if the non-binding question passed, it would have to voted on again at Town Meeting, and then a second time in binding form at a future election.Mr. Vieira questioned Mr. Dutra’s timeline, saying an over-whelming majority vote on the question at both this election and next Town Meeting might preclude the need for a second ballot vote next year. “We’ve done a lot of positive things with CPC funds,” Mr. Vieira noted, “but what I’m concerned with is what we can’t do.”A second non-binding question would look at consolidating town services into fewer municipal buildings. Though nothing is set in stone, a possible consolidation might see some town offices moved into unoccupied space at the Westport Middle School, which the Westport School Committee has voted to abandon and return to town control.Offices and departments at Town Hall, the Town Hall Annex, and the Council on Aging were floated as possibilities for future relocation. The potential for savings would come by way of moving the Police Department into Town Hall, thus minimizing the need for repairs to the present police station.The move would allow the Town Hall Annex and police station to be available for sale or long-term lease.

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